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Ombudsman

What is the Financial Ombudsman?

The Financial Ombudsman is an independent body appointed to rule on disputes related to financial matters in an attempt to prevent matters from going to court. They are charged with representing the interests of the public by investigating and addressing complaints reported by individuals.

The name Ombudsman comes from the old Norse word Umboosmaor, meaning 'representative'.

How do I complain to the Ombudsman?

A: Before formally submitting a complaint to the Ombudsman Service, you must first contact the company you have an issue with. If they do not reply to your correspondence within 8 weeks, or you are unsatisfied with their answer, you can fill in an online form to submit a complaint to the Ombudsman. You will need to submit a complaint within six months of contacting the business in question for your submission to be valid.

Q: Can I appeal the Ombudsman's verdict?

A: Any final verdict given by the Ombudsman is precisely that, final. As such, you will not be able to appeal their decision if you disagree with it, but you will be given plenty of opportunities while the investigation is active to provide as much evidence as necessary to back your claim.

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Information

checkmyfile is a trade mark and is a trading name of Credit Reporting Agency Limited (Registered number 3719598). Credit Reporting Agency Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (firm reference 690175). Credit Reporting Agency Limited is a Credit Reference Agency notified with the Office of the Information Commissioner, registration number Z6636832. Our VAT number is GB 738 731 215. Credit Reporting Agency Limited is registered in England and has its registered office at Trevithick House, Trevissome Park, Truro, TR4 8UN.

Monthly fee of £14.99 applies after your free 30-day trial. You may cancel at any time without charge by Freephone, Secure Message, email or online. The free 30-day trial applies only to new customers aged 18 years or more who are living in the UK. The 30-day free trial period starts when you register. If we are unable to verify your identity online when you register, we may ask you to provide information to us which may delay access to your Credit Report.

* The data we obtain from the four Credit Reference Agencies, which we use to build your checkmyfile Credit Report, differs in depth. We obtain all available data from Callcredit, Crediva and Equifax. Experian provides us with the data they report to lenders with the exception of the credit history data that lenders provide to them, which lenders also provide to Callcredit, Equifax or to both in the vast majority of cases; and also with the exception of Cifas fraud data, which is supplied to Experian in the same format to Callcredit and Equifax, and which we also show on your checkmyfile Credit Report. We present all of this data in the same format so you can more easily compare the differences between agencies, spot errors and, by using the common yardstick of your checkmyfile Credit Scores, you can also see how your creditworthiness differs, depending on which Credit Reference Agency is searched by a prospective lender.